Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development
  • Year: 2019
  • Volume: 10
  • Issue: 8

Baghdad Boil is Reemerging in Iraq

1Chair of Department of Family and community Medicine, College of Medicine, Mustansiriya University, Affiliated Prof, Global Health Department, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

2Lecturer, Department of Family and community Medicine, College of Medicine, Babil University

*Corresponding author: Riyadh K Lafta, E-mail: riyadhlafta@yahoo.com

Online published on 26 September, 2019.

Abstract

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is ranked third in disability-adjusted life years among the neglected tropical diseases and second most common insult of parasite-related deaths after malaria.

To figure out the trend of the Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Iraq and portray the recent spike that may indicate reemerging of this disease.

Data was collected from the Department of Health Statistics in the Ministry of Health for the years (2000–2017), double checked and confirmed by data from other health facilities’ registries to fill the blanks and to enhance reliability. It was categorized according to the 18 Iraqi governorates; the total of each governorate was measured for each disease for all the years and then summed to obtain the total for Iraq. The results were conformed to the reports of the WHO, World Bank and UNICEF to define the trend of diseases for each governorate.

A very high spike Cutaneous Leishmaniasis occurred in 2015–16 (p= 0.010). It affected males and females equally, adults (>15 years) more than children, and mostly in the middle and south regions of Iraq.

The findings of this study ring the bells for immediate intervention measures to stop the flare up and spread of this reemerging disease.

Keywords

Baghdad, Boil, Reemerging